1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to wheeled carts and more particularly to a wheeled cart for transporting and storing horse saddles and other equipment.
2. Background of the Invention
Horse saddles are heavy, cumbersome pieces of equipment. The weight and shape of the saddles make it difficult to move them around with ease. When horse owners are involved with horse shows, they have a problem moving the saddles, bridles and other supplies from their trailers to the provided stalls. Space is at a premium at horse shows and consequently there is a problem storing the saddles and other tack in a place and manner which makes them conveniently available, yet out of the way.
Problems may also be experienced at an owner""s stables where the area where tack is stored is some distance from the horse stall. A rider would therefore have to carry the saddles and bridles from the storage area to the stallxe2x80x94a tedious and tiring task.
A number of wheeled tack carts have been proposed in the prior art to assist horse owners in transporting their tack. Some of the U.S. patents which have been granted for tack carts include U.S. Pat. No. 3,930,663 (Scripter); U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,049 (Goring), U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,312 (Starita et al) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,362,078 (Paton).
Scripter (U.S. Pat. No. 3,930,663) discloses a wheeled cart which is designed to transport one saddle at a time. When the user reaches their destination, a ground support is pivoted outwardly from the main frame to allow the cart to stand independently. The saddle is removed and the cart may be folded up for storage. This cart does not provide a way for transporting bridles or any other supplies unless they are draped over the saddle. Additionally, if the cart is used to transport a saddle to a stall where space is at a premium, such as at a horse show, the cart cannot be used to store the saddle efficiently as it takes up additional floor space in the stall.
Goring (U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,049), discloses a tack cart which may be used to transport one saddle. The cart includes a storage box which can be used to transport bridles and other supplies. As with the cart proposed by Scripter, the Goring cart becomes a problem for temporarily storing tack in an area where space is tight. In fact the cart is more problematic in that it cannot be folded for storage.
The cart proposed by Starita et al (U.S. Pat. No. 5,747,312), is also designed for the transportation of one saddle and it may be collapsed for storage. The cart is designed to carry a wide array of supplies. This device is however problematic when space is tightxe2x80x94it may be used to hold a saddle and supplies but takes up valuable floor space; or it can be folded away for storage-leaving nothing to hold the saddle and bridles.
Finally, the cart proposed by Paton, U.S. Pat. No. 5,362,078, is adapted to carry more than one saddle at a time and can be separated to form a saddle holding rack and a separate cart for transporting other supplies. This cart does not, however, address the problem with taking up valuable stall space while still providing a device for holding saddles and bridles. If the saddle holding rack is separated from the cart, it still occupies floor space in the stall.
The present invention provides a tack cart that may be used to transport and store tack. The tack cart includes a conveying member and a storage member. The storage member may be detached from the conveying member and may be mounted onto an independent support located remote from the storage member. The storage member may include at least one saddle support member that may be detachably mounted on either the conveying member or the storage member. The cart may further include a detachable bridle support that is receivable on the conveying member or the storage member or the independent support.